


Take a New Picture

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Humor, post-episode
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-12
Updated: 2014-10-12
Packaged: 2018-02-20 18:31:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2438612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If that was truly her yearbook picture, she was not going to be a happy camper.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Take a New Picture

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the alphabet meme and [](http://lizi0527.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://lizi0527.livejournal.com/)**lizi0527** ’s prompt of **Y is for yearbook**.

“Agent Prentiss, you have a delivery.”

“Thanks Anderson.” She took it from his hands, smiling as she ripped the cardboard.

“What is it, Prentiss?” Derek asked as he looked up from his paperwork.

“I'm about to find out if I'm truly crazy or if someone is playing tricks with my mind.”

“Why can't it be both?” Morgan asked grinning.

“Oh haha.” She smirked. “I'm serious Morgan. For weeks I've really been wondering about this. Now I’ll have definitive proof.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I may regret this, but come and see.”

Morgan got up from his desk and came to stand next to Emily, who was sitting at hers. She was holding a yearbook in her hands; Garfield High 1989, Home of the Grizzlies.

“Is that what I think it is?” he asked.

“My high school yearbook.” Emily replied.

“No offense, but I never had you pegged for a public school girl.”

“That’s a long and sordid story.”

“Gimme the abridged version.”

“Well, traveling all over the world with my mother I had private tutors. After some…trouble…she sent me to boarding school in the United States. I was at Hotchkiss for a year and a half…”

“Hotchkiss? Are you serious?” Morgan smirked.

“Shut up.”

“I can't; that is too good. That is like way too good.”

“Do you want the rest of the story or not?” she gave him a steely gaze.

“I'm sorry, go on.”

“So after some things happened there, I called my father and told him I was done. I told him to pick me up immediately, and he did. So here I was facing the middle of my junior year with no school. He enrolled me in Garfield, which enraged my mother and suited me just fine. The end.”

“And you're suddenly feeling nostalgic for high school?” Derek asked.

“A few weeks ago Penelope and Reid made fun of my high school yearbook photo. I swore it had been Photoshopped but Penelope told me she found it that way.” Emily looked at Morgan. “That wasn’t me Morgan, someone was yanking my chain, and now I have the proof.”

“Well open it up…I wanna see.”

“You don’t get to see.”

“Why not?”

“Cuz there's a possibility, however slim, that it could be the real photo. High school was a bit of a blur. But just in case it is the real photo, I don’t need anyone else seeing it.”

“You think I haven’t seen that photo?” Morgan asked. “I'm just wondering if you hit The Cure concert right after or if you were perfecting the look for later.”

Morgan laughed as Emily gave him a friendly punch. She sighed, opening up the large book and going straight to the senior class. It was so strange leafing through those pages. She’d been there for a year and a half; got to know people. She remembered parties, smoking by the dumpsters, more parties, and how much she loathed gym class.

She remembered Mr. Cameron, the physics teacher she fantasized about. She remembered Latin Club, Forensics, and being tricked into trying out for The Great Gatsby. When she first started there, Emily was going through her bohemian 60s Mia Farrow stage. She quickly adopted a darker, Goth look, to go with her feelings and the music she loved so much. If that was truly her yearbook picture, she was not going to be a happy camper.

“Woo, check out the Jersey hair on that girl.” Morgan pointed to Kim Northam. “Did you know her, Prentiss?”

“She was Secretary of the Student Council.” Emily replied. “We didn't run in the same circles but everyone knew Kim. It was 1989, that kind of hair was hot. So were stonewashed jeans, rope chains, and a host of other things that I hope never come back into style. I did my own thing though.”

“This doesn’t surprise me. Stop stalling and turn the page…I'm sure you're on the next one.”

Emily took a deep breath, turning the page. _Oh, thank you Lord_ , she thought when she saw her picture. Emily Prentiss; Forensics, Latin Club, _The Grizzly_. Her quote was from a Smiths song, _Unloveable. Well if I seem a little strange that’s because I am_.

The hair was pretty much the same as it had been in the picture Penelope showed to her; she remembered having that cut. But the black eyeliner and mascara was more subdued. Her lipstick was red, not a good color for her, and her face looked very pale. Emily wasn’t smiling but she wasn’t frowning either. She remembered the black dress she was wearing well…they would call it steampunk these days.

“I’d have dated you.” Morgan said smiling.

“Thank you.”

“But I guess we don’t have to worry about that since you're all about Hotchkiss.”

“You're not funny. I'm just glad I looked somewhat normal.”

“What does it matter? I had a Gumby in my high school yearbook picture. We’re supposed to be embarrassed by them.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s the principle of the thing, Derek.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Emily rolled her eyes, closing the yearbook. She felt better though she couldn’t quite say why. High school was a blur; most of her teenage years were. They weren't a blur of good things though. She had some good times, mostly at Garfield as her life settled into something that resembled normal.

But everything that happened before was always underneath. It was still underneath today. Emily didn’t know why she felt the need to double check on the picture. Maybe it was because she thought she remembered it and wanted to remember so little.

“What has you two so focused?” Hotch walked up on his two profilers holding a cup of tea.

“Nothing.” Emily shoved the book under some folders. She nearly knocked everything off her desk in the process but didn’t care.

“Emily wanted to make sure she remembered what she looked like in high school.” Morgan replied.

“Really?” she looked at Morgan. “Because when I said nothing that meant for you not to go blabbing about it.”

“So, it wasn’t a fugue state possibly caused by a Siouxsie and the Banshees concert?” Hotch asked, unable to stop the smile that settled on his normally serious face.

“Oh my God, Penelope showed you the picture?”

“I don’t remember who showed it to me but I saw it. C'mon, Prentiss, we’re all embarrassed by our high school yearbook photos.”

“That’s what I said.”

“It wasn’t me though. It wasn’t me, Hotch.”

“OK, I believe you.” He nodded.

“Don’t say it like that. It really wasn’t.” she grabbed the yearbook and flipped the pages again. “See, see this is me.” Emily pointed to the picture. “I don’t know who that other girl was but she wasn’t me.”

Hotch looked at the picture, a little ‘hmm’ noise coming from his throat. Both Morgan and Prentiss wondered what that noise meant but neither said a word.

“So you feel better now?” Hotch asked.

“I did a few minutes ago.” There was something about the way he asked it that suddenly made the whole thing futile. She wanted to be a grouch and tell him to go away. It was some of his fault that she was going through all of this in the first place.

“Hey, did Prentiss ever tell you she was a Hotchkiss girl?” Morgan asked with a sly grin.

“I'm going to show this to Penelope.” Emily got up from her desk and walked away from the two men. One of these days an almost personal conversation with Hotch wasn’t going to be embarrassing. Clearly that day wasn’t today but there was some hope for the future. The past was looking a little better than Emily remembered so there was always hope for the future.

***

  



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